Beautiful first half kick assist for Dylan Walker and at times threatened to rip the game open with his power running game. Also made a couple of crucial errors when he needed to stand up.

2. Matt Wright (8)

One of his best games in Manly colours, with almost 200 running metres to his name. His first big contribution was a 70 metre run to give Manly field-position for the first try of the game.

3. Dylan Walker (6)

They say talk is cheap and Walker did plenty of that on the field and at the Panthers bench after his early try. It came back to bite him when he was unable to stay onside for a try that could have turned the game for his side.

Went down in an awkward tackle before halftime but recovered to take his place in the second half. Couldn’t repeat last week’s heroics though, and dropped a crucial ball with Manly on attack.

5. Akuila Uate (3)

A game of almosts. Had a chance to pluck a kick for the first try but just couldn’t hold it. Should have scored when he won the race to a DCE kick but knocked it on. Then he dropped a simple kick to end his side’s hopes.

6. Blake Green (6.5)

His kicking game wasn’t up top the same standard as it has been, but credit where credit’s due, he made some clever plays as Manly rode some momentum in the second half, putting Lewis Brown over for a try.

7. Daly Cherry-Evans (6)

Was busy and dangerous when the game was in the balance but wasn’t able to make much of his magic stick. Ripped a hole in Penrith’s defence to link with Tommy Turbo but they couldn’t quite turn it into a try.

Other than giving Panthers fans a scare when he up-ended Nathan Cleary, the big prop was just about anonymous. The trip to the judiciary last week was a waste.

9. Apisai Koroisau (7)

Busy as usual in defence and buzzed around out of dummy half. Wasn’t helped by a fairly slow ruck as his side’s big men struggled to get ascendancy.

10. Marty Taupau (6.5)

Slow start but came home strong and finally started to dent Penrith’s line as his side made a brief comeback. Still, was below his best.

11. Frank Winterstein (6)

Was a willing ball runner on the left edge and his footwork at the line caused some problems.

12. Curtis Sironen (3)

Made his tackles but struggled to make an impact in attack. His night ended early when he picked up a hamstring injury.

13. Jake Trbojevic (5)

Worked hard in defence as always and made some big tackles to stop the Panthers’ momentum. Also made some uncharacteristic errors and was unable to dent Penrith’s line. His match was summed up by a knock on in the first minute.

Jake Trbojevic of the Sea Eagles argues with referee Gerard Sutton after the matchwinning try to Tyrone Peachey.Source: Getty Images

14. Lewis Brown (7)

Came on for the injured Curtis Sironen and helped briefly turn the momentum, running some nice angles to create some headaches and scoring a crucial try.

15. Lloyd Perrett (4)

Didn’t get much of an opportunity and with the exception of one nice offload to start an attack, he was unable to make an impact.

16. Brenton Lawrence (3)

Looked filthy when he was brought off in the second half, and rightly so, it was a confusing call. He played just five minutes and hadn’t put a foot wrong.

17. Addin Fonua-Blake (8)

Manly’s best forward. While he was open, the Sea Eagles started to find a way to make some metres and his offload created some dangerous second phase. He’s got plenty of fire in the belly and got involved in a scuffle Walker started, which led to a penalty, then a try. Still, he’s an exciting kid for the future.

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